A buddy of mine just gave me a radial saw left at his rental after an eviction. I almost turned him down because I figured I would never have a need for one, but this video gives me confidence it's something I'd like to have around. Thanks!

I own a radial arm saw, I love it- I have rip cut with it, surface planed it- even put a jacobs chuck on the back and made a drum sander. But you, my friend, need to use a push stick, especially if you're going to be... wearing gloves while operating a saw...

I like your return mechanism on the saw. Simple but effective.

I was driving to the store and a neighbor had an old craftsman 8” radial at the curb for free and I grabbed it. Was able to play around with it after this video and everything works!

Nice job good sir, well done. No playing games just straight to the point. And no talking for days either, great vid,,,, do you have a vid on how to make sure your fence is perpendicular to your saw blade perhaps ????thank you. GOD BLESS you....

Thank you for this video. I'm not always good at explaining tools and techniques, and a "non-practical" friend asked me what a radial arm saw was and how it worked. This video was a simple and effective illustration.

i appreciate the effort you put into this video. As an experienced carpenter of 20 plus years i feel the need to warn you and others how dangerous this process is. Way too much exposed blade. your hand is getting way too close to the front and to the back when picking the lumber up after the cut. Other than that, enjoy your work..

I’ve never been more nervous watching woodworking

Simple, straightforward. To the point. No mucking around with boring dialogue.

Hey Jim, Yes, you were definitely feeding from the correct end. The only two pieces of advice I would offer is... 1. That slider on the front is more than a dust shield. It is also the hold down. put it down far enough that the board can "lift" only a very small amount. 2. Where is you anti kickback pawl? You really need that. I would suggest a book written by the late Wally Kunkle on radial arm saw usage. Far and away the best authority on the RAS.

Great video. What I like to do is clamp blocks to the table in both the in and out feeds the hold the piece against the fence. For repetitive cuts or dados I use a 3-4 foot clamp that has a flat straight edge which sits against the piece being cut to hold it against the fence. ( Its like a pipe clamp but extruded aluminium and 3" wide. Same thing can be accomplished by clamping a 1x4 to the table.) I like to rotate the guard until the in feed side makes contact with the wood. My guard has a (original?) Spring clip that presses on the wood which holds piece tight to the table but still allows for variations in thickness. One of the biggest advantages of a Radial Arm saw haw got to be their compact size and not needing any out feed space for.cross.cuts. My work space is quite limited but has a great view as I work on an 8'x30' condo terrace several stories up. Noise and dust collection are my biggest concerns and sadly Radial Arm saws are noted to be one of the worst. Using good anti-vibration blades along with a blade stiffener and keeping them sharp and clean helps a lot. Some blades, ie Dewalt 80 tooth thin kerf have wierd resonating harmonics; starts noisy but get really bad if left to spin for more than 10 seconds and it peaks around 30 seconds with a steady LOUD shriek. Another's way to make a radial arm saw safer is toXuse a foot switch to stop and start. This allows you to keep one hand on the saw handle whenever the blade is spinning and another on the piece. One of the other nastiest with radial arm saws can be with pieces from the cut falling into the path of the blade when it returns to its home position. Its partcularily bad with small cut off material. In such cases I often use the foot switch to shut down the saw then stopped clear out the scrap and return the saw to its home position. I have a 925 model and it is dead accurate. I've slowly been acquiring the attachments for it but still lack the shaper head and fence, lathe and router bracket would be nice to have but I'm in no real hurry; its more just to have them as opposed to needing them. I can use the CNC machine for what lathe work I do. I tend to avoid the router because of the noise, especially after an incident with a 1/4" shank 1-3/4"HP router with a door pull bit and a piece of oak. You can't do multiple passes with the router as its shaped like a curved T-slot bit... so the router is forced to cut about 4 inches of oak at once. It made it apparent its better to have a trim router and a monster 3.5 HP router in a table than trying to have one in the middle.

I enjoyed the video. Anyone that thinks this saw is safer than a table saw is wrong. With modern chops saws the only real use I have for my OLD! Craftsman Radial arm saw is exactly how you demonstrated it. I really like the bungee idea as well. I don't like the gloves and long sleeves, I have seen more than one guy get pulled in because the blade grabs loose clothing or glove. But that is my experience, and you still have all your limbs. Thanks for the video.

I am beginner woodworking and your video was very informative and I found out that I had been using the table saw all wrong - I didn't know to turn the blade - didn't have anyone to show me - dad having dementia didn't remember how to use his woodworking tools anymore

Good to see that you still have all your fingers. I was ripping a piece of fiberglass roofing material with a radial arm saw. The blade grabbed it and jerked it out of my hands. It went zinging through the saw. Luckily it cut straight down the line I intended to cut.

Jim, great way to straighten a board. Ripping on a RAS is a dangerous task. I am way too nervous to attempt this on my Rigid with out the guards installed.

Great video, but I don't recommend wearing gloves while operating any kind of circular saw. If the machinery gets a hold of your glove, it can tear your whole hand off. Please spare me all the "Not if you know what you're doing.".

I didn't want to put the board through a planer because I used it rough leaving the saw marks. To straighten the edge of the board it doesn't have to be smooth on the board surface.

ive never used one of these and i found a craftsman for $75. i like to build furniture when im not working so after your video i think im definitely going to grab it. thanks

I’ve been watching all kinds of wood working videos with the idea to take off making something, I tell you I had no idea about that tool, I see the table saw which makes the same cut, only the blade is under the table not above, pretty cool staff

Thanks. I can set my RAS fence up more or less square (hopefully more more than less after reading everyone trying to scare the pants off my with their RAS stories). Im impressed you're able to keep such a long fence so square from tip to tip. But I guess really only the section that has to be truly square is the length in the immediate vicinity of the blade -- maybe plus a foot or two in each direction. Any minor deviation beyond that isn't going to effect the cut. Thanks again!

Great video ... I'm an old table saw man ... but just came into a Craftsman Radial Arm. You've provided more than enough information for me to decide to keep the saw and *learn* it. Look forward to looking at all your videos :-)

I like the pace of this video and perfect for me - thats one helluva saw. I came here as I am trying to get rid of a radial arm device - which isnt coming up anywhere to show people what it is.

I think you do a great job and I love ur vids...straight forward and to the point! Thank you! 👍🏼😉

Thank you for demonstration of working with your radial saw.

Public Service Announcement: Please never wear gloves while using powered saws. A saw will grab fabric and everything inside of it.

Ripping is a lot safer on the radial of you position a roller above the board in front of and behind the blade. If I can ever get set up to make videos I hope to do one on a couple of spring loaded rollers I built out of chair casters. They go a long way toward keeping the blade from binding, chattering and throwing the board back at you.

That disclaimer at the end 😆 I've never heard it put so perfectly. I'm stealing this wording

Hey Jim, great channel/video. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure you get enough safety tips, but heads up on wearing gloves while working with a RAS, they lower your awareness of proximity to the blade and can pull your whole hand in if they touch the blade. Almost lost a finger working on a ras that way, and ever since then I prefer the splinters. I have the shredded work glove hanging above my workbench as a reminder to be careful. I'm sure you know to be careful when pulling lumber from the rear side of the blade too, but the danger of working in gloves is lesser known. keep all 10 attached and make plenty of dust.

Thanks so much. Just picked up identical saw used.

Thanks for taking the time to show us! 👍

Why are you not using the anti-kickback pawls? They don’t get in the way of anything, so there’s no reason NOT to use them. My setup is similar to yours...long infeed and outfeed tables, and I like being able to cut full 4 x 8 sheets down to size while supporting the entire length of material on the fence.

Hey! A carpenter Apprentice Speaking. Make sure to never, EVER, wear gloves while working on machines. Every moving part can grab gloves, armbands, loose clothing, etc. And pull it into the machine, cutter Heads or blades. Yes. Its just that one Cut. You are just drilling that one Hole. Yes. You did this for the past 5 years and you have been fine. DON'T. One day, your dream of being a Woodworker can be crushed because your glove got caught in your saw.

That's why I love a Jointer..

Well, that push stick really did a lot of good, LOL! I think I'd want a pawl or a set of board buddies for doing that. Been thinking of getting an old DeWalt shopmaster as they're fairly inexpensive in this area...at least on fb marketplace. Most are from $25 to $75 but have seen the industrial ones on there in the thousands. Thankfully I don't need an industrial one.

Where the hell is the anti kick back device?

SURPRISING amount of sawdust flying out of there WITH the vacuum on!

thanks for the video Jim....you have shown that despite all the warnings against.... ripping can safely be done on the RAS but no gloves..sadly you will never get a job as a cameraman kind regards from the UK.

Nice job...... I’m also a pilot...... Thanks for the video

Love the radial arm saw! Not a Ridgid or a Craftsman though. Anyone with a radial arm saw should read the Late Great Wally Kunkel's book. RIP Wally. That is a pretty cool way to straighten a board. A table saw would have to have a really long fence to do that.

Great guy. Nice easy understanding and good video. Nice work.

i used to have a radial arm saw set up just like that with full 8’ indeed and out fed tables. it was a dream to rip down sheet goods

This is probably the most terrifyingly intimidating piece i have in my shop... lol

The issue I have with the ras over the table saw, is that the table saws blade can be raised or lowered, when I rip on my table saw only a 32nd of an inch is usually sticking above the wood. When I rip with a ras, all of the blade is above the wood. Now sure they can both be used in a mostly safe manner, but if I hit the 32nd sticking out of my table saw I get a cut. if I do the same on my ras? I get an amputation.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use gloves with this kind of machinery. They can catch in the moving parts.

Nice job. I often wondered how it was done the right way. One concern is the anchor point on the wall for the 'Ocky' strap to return the saw-blade to the home position. I have had one come adrift and hit me in the face. Regards Mike McMahon.

I just picked a 1978 Radial Arm saw for free in really good shape. Would you happen to have a video on making your bench for yours?

Very nice table set up though 😎

That’s is a great way to get that done with what you have, but man that blade chatter made my butt pucker!🤣🤣

I just posted the manual link above...look at "Adjustments" in the PDF manual.

Nice to see a fella so proficient , no doubt he knows his stuff wish he was my next door neighbor.L.Bennett

Great video, thank you for posting this.

just noticed, your blade is cutting on the up stroke, when crosscutting it cuts on the down stroke. I just picked up my first RAS and doing some homework before getting stuck in. I see your guard swings down to keep the work down, mine is stationary.

Good information. Thank you!!

very good video thanks, you explain things the best!!

Wouldn't the ripping pawl be beneficial here? And also something like board buddies on the outfeed side ?

No wearing gloves on machinery, it is very dangerous!!

Great video, thanks. But I've always been of the mind that wearing gloves increases the chance of my hand getting grabbed and pulled into the blade... not so?

Wow! Great tip!

It's like a upside down table saw.

hermoso job.

Thanks internet dad just got my first radial it’s a craftsman works nice got it for 50$

El disco agarrará el guante y hará más daño sin guantes solo cortará un dedo el guante halara incluso todo el cuerpo del operador

Wow! I did not know those saws cut sideways, that is cool

Love the bungee cord!

Yes I understand that... But since that's a rough cut board, you gotta put it through the planner, but you never straitened aside

Not some people, but all professionals use a jointer. This is just way more dangerous and I would not recommend it to any amateur trying to cut hardwood for the first time.

Nice job ! Am not sure my self tho would feel safe doing it that way idk if that would have more of a kickback then a table saw.

Planer and Joiner are two different tools... this is using the Radial arm saw in place of a joiner... straightening the edges of a board.

I found Jim, nice video, informative

CONGRATULATIONS, good job.

great instructions - ez to follow and understand - many thankyou's 4 your time ~ clicked liked % subscribed

my pleasure sir

I'm a professional cabinet maker, 42 years. a couple things: never wear gloves when using powertools, unless designed for it. usually fingerless, but I don't let my guys use them. Always use a rip blade, that looks like a 80 tooth thin kirf. max. 36 tooth, use full 1/8" blade. Always use a push stick, never pull wood through. Should always surface a board before straightlining. and last, buy a table saw if at all possible, radial arm saws are not seen in most shops for a reason.

I fear radial arm saws though they look handy and versatile for a mitre saw and a table saw.

The board was far from flat on the table. How can you get parallel edges?

Thanks for the in service.

ok so: you did NOT use a "negative rake blade" because you had the blade turned the "opposite" way, basically, right? how did you keep the board on the table, doesn't the saw blade orientation like this, tend to pick up the board?

Ed Stengel, Safe and unsafe is a bit of a misconception. Shapers are considered to be dangerous but jointers and router tables are considered to be safe. The fact is that all power tools are dangerous. More fingers are lost on table saws than other power tools. Fingers are also cut off with hand held circular saws. Many people have had their fingers cut off with jointers. In most cases had proper procedures been utilized such as clamping fixtures, hold down fingers, rollers, featherboards etc. fingers and hands would not have been lost. I see many videos with experienced cabinet makers pushing lumber through a table saw blade with their hands. Some people have been permanently injured after using these same unsafe procedure for years. Power tools such as radial arm saws can be safe if operated in a safe manner. david

I lost count of the Wood Working Principles and Safety Rules you violated! Thank You for showing everyone how NOT to do it! When I was in Junior High School Shop class, I thought the Radial Arm Saw was the greatest Tool in the World. I've had both a Craftsman and Delta RS and I won't own another one. According to Emerson Electric, the manufacture of the Craftsman RS, this type of tool is the MOST DANGEROUS tool in the Shop. I doubt you're will find many Wood Working Professional that have one.

Oops, I thought you were going to make some furniture or something that need all 4 sides true. Thanks for clearing it up!

I've seen one of these 2nd hand locally for £200....I'm watching this to see if I will get value...Looks a great piece of kit to put in my Workshop.

I thought the board is fed into the blade in the direction of the rotation of a Radial saw. This method pushes the board toward the table

Nice instructional video. Would like to learn more about how to use a RAS properly and safely. Its now obsolete as the compound miter saw sealed its fate. The RAS actually scares me without the blade guard retrofit and its many angles and adjustments. Will take getting used to versus a table saw but look forward in using it soon. Application will be to rip 20' redwood lumber for redwood decking and railings. This maybe the perfect saw for ripping since it is an elevated, suspended, inverse of a table saw

fyi Sears recalled the Craftsman radial saw and they are no longer giving out the free retrofit kits. They say they will give you $100 if you send in the carriage, I need my saw so I'm risking it

And what was that push stick for? And do you have anti kickback device.

WOW very cool

Definitely thought you were Mike Rowe for a sec. You even sound like him a little bit

Question.. i have the exact same radial arm saw. It was given to me by neighbor after i sold his house and he downsized. My question is its obvious that it hasn't been used in years and as a result it doesn't glide back and forth easily enough when im making simple cuts. Can I apply WD40 to bearings or the arm? If anyone knows the answer to this question, please chime in.. i appreciate any feedback i can get. Thanks again.

Great video.

When you put your board through a planner won't the board turn out crooked because you never jointed the underside?

Nicely executed fellow pilot. I have to agree though, I was always taught that gloves and long sleeves around machines like this are absolutely taboo! Also, where are your anti-kickback pawls when ripping? You're getting your fingers awful close to that blade and I wouldn't be turning my back on that running saw to talk to the camera either. Granted, you DO state that this is how YOU do it. You do a nice job but I see a lot of complacency and bad habits that I hope other viewers don't pick up.

Замечательная пила. Особенно порадовала резиночка для возврата каретки! Сразу видно наш человек! Не удивлюсь, если в роду русские найдутся!

Hello I recently picked up a ridgid rs1000 ras and was hoping you could give some advice as to fine tuning and calibrating the saw. As mine is out of adjustment. any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks. Just starting to get my old 2610 pwrcraft wards saw working. It was given to me. It is missing the blade nut. Wonder if the Craftsman nut from a Craftsman 113 series table saw would work, 5/8 inch. (available on Ebay) That saw keeps coking up so perhaps they are the same saw ? Not sure it will rotate quite like that Rigid, thats a nice saw.

Thank you . Your instructions are very helpful to us . The Western would share the knowledge is opposite to the Eastern . God bless you .

Thanks for the tip

What kind of blades do you use on your radial arm saw for ripping?

Yup,,that's a real good tip,!,,many thanks 👍

the ripping and the tearing the ripping and the tearing. That's all I could think about

Good thing he had the push stick.